WVC 20 - 1 - 13
§20-1-13. Law enforcement and legal services.
The director shall select and designate a competent and
qualified person to be department law-enforcement officer, who
shall have the title of chief conservation officer and who shall be
responsible for the prompt, orderly and effective enforcement of
all of the provisions of this chapter. Under the supervision of
the director and subject to personnel qualifications and
requirements otherwise prescribed in this chapter, the chief
conservation officer shall be responsible for the selection,
training, assignment, distribution and discipline of conservation
officers and the effective discharge of their duties in carrying
out the law-enforcement policies, practices and programs of the
department in compliance with the provisions of article seven of
this chapter and other controlling laws. Except as otherwise
provided in this chapter, he or she and his or her conservation
officers are hereby authorized to enter into and upon private lands
and waters to investigate complaints and reports of conditions,
conduct, practices and activities considered to be adverse to and
violative of the provisions of this chapter and to execute writs
and warrants and make arrests thereupon.

The attorney general and his or her assistants and the
prosecuting attorneys of the several counties shall render to the
director, without additional compensation, such legal services as
the director may require of them in the discharge of his or her
duties and the execution of his or her powers under and his or her
enforcement of the provisions of this chapter. The director, in an
emergency and with prior approval of the attorney general, may employ an attorney to act in proceedings wherein criminal charges
are brought against personnel of the department because of action
in line of duty. For such attorney services, a reasonable sum, not
exceeding two thousand five hundred dollars, may be expended by the
director in any one case.

The director, if he or she deems the action necessary, may
request the attorney general to appoint an assistant attorney
general, who shall perform, under the supervision and direction of
the attorney general, the duties as may be required of him or her
by the director. The attorney general, in pursuance of the
request, may select and appoint an assistant attorney general to
serve at the will and pleasure of the attorney general, and the
assistant shall receive a salary to be paid out of any funds made
available for that purpose by the Legislature to the department.

Note: WV Code updated with legislation passed through the 2015 Regular Session
The WV Code Online is an unofficial copy of the annotated WV Code, provided as a convenience. It has NOT been edited for publication, and is not in any way official or authoritative.